British classic Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is getting retold in a new novel being written in the perspective of servants. The novel, called Longbourn and written by Jo Baker, was grabbed by U.S. and UK publishers last week, the BBC reported on Friday.
The British author spoke to the BBC about how she came about her novel idea. "Jane Austen was my first experience of grown-up literature," Baker said. "But as I read and re-red her books, I began to become aware that if I'd been living at the time, I wouldn't have got to go to the ball; I would have been stuck at home with the sewing"
The 39-year-old added that she was inspired by her own family's years in service, the BBC reported. Longbourn, which was purchased by U.S. publisher Knopf on Monday and U.K. publisher Doubleday on Wednesday, follows the love story of a newly arrived footman and a housemaid in the Bennet household.
According to Baker's agent Clare Alexander, the book's film rights had been purchased by Thursday and negotiations for two foreign translations by Friday. The film rights were purchased by Random House Studio and Focus Features, which distributed the 2005 version of "Pride of Prejudice," starring Keira Knightley.
Focus Features spokesman James Schamus told the BBC, "Jo Baker fully inhabits the lives of her characters, and in Longbourn they are ones who previously existed in the background only. By compellingly exploring new avenues in the world of Pride and Prejudice, she has fashioned a tale of a caliber that that film-makers dream about."
"Longbourn is a piece of art that emerges from a much-loved classic," Alexander added to the BBC.
This year, Austen's Pride and Prejudice celebrates its 200th anniversary. According to the BBC, Longbourn will be published in hardcover and e-book format in late 2013, with a paperback format released in 2014.
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